The San Diego-based firm reported revenue of $6.02 billion, a 29% increase from a year earlier and well above analysts' forecast of $5.9 billion.

Excluding items, Qualcomm earned $1.26 a share, a rise of 30%. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for earnings of $1.13 a share.

Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs pointed, in particular, to sales of the company's Mobile Station Modem (MSM) chips, which are found in devices such as smartphones.

"We are pleased to report record quarterly revenues, non-GAAP EPS and MSM chip shipments, driven by the growing global demand for smartphones and our industry-leading portfolio of 3G/LTE chipsets," he said in a statement released after the market close.

Qualcomm is projecting fiscal second-quarter revenue between $5.8 billion and $6.3 billion and earnings between $1.10 a share and $1.18 a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were looking for revenue of $5.88 billion and earnings of $1.10 a share.

Shares of Qualcomm climbed 6.7% to $67.76 in extended trading.

In a separate announcement, Qualcomm said Bill Keitel is retiring as the company's CFO. George Davis, currently CFO of Applied Materials ( AMAT), will replace Keitel effective March 11.